Indicating location status

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for indicating location status. A computing device can receive a query from a user device, a current time, and a location for the user device. The computing device identifies results responsive to the query, including one or more business results that are each associated with a business location and operating hours. The computing device can select a subset of the business results as open results based on the operating hours of the business results, the current time, and travel times from the device location to the respective business locations. Data can be provided for a search engine results page that designates the subset of the business results as open results.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/658,933, filed Oct. 24, 2012, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/551,828, filed on Oct. 26, 2011, theentirety of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference as iffully set forth therein.

BACKGROUND

This document relates to processing search queries and providing searchresults.

Internet search engines identify resources (e.g., web pages, images,text documents, multimedia content) that are relevant to a user'sinformation needs, and present information about the resources to theuser. Typically, users submit queries that suggest the information theusers want to retrieve, and search engines provide search results thatare responsive to the queries. Some results may correspond to businessesthat have limited operating hours.

SUMMARY

In response to a query received from a computing device, a search enginesystem can identify search results, including business results that areassociated with business locations. The search engine system candetermine whether business results should be designated as open at aparticular time based on operating hours associated with the businessresults and a location associated with the query. For example, the querycan indicate the location of the computing device. Using a travel timebetween the location of the computing device and a business location,the search engine system can determine whether to designate the businesslocation as being open. The search engine system then providesinformation that indicates which business locations are designated asopen at the particular time of interest.

Particular business locations can be designated as open at a particulartime, for example, at the current time or at a time in the future.Whether to designate a location as open can be determined based on thelocation of a user. A control can be provided that responds to userinteraction to alter the display of the results, for example, byreordering or filtering the results.

In appropriate circumstances, users may be provided with an opportunityto opt in/out of programs or features that may collect personalinformation (e.g., information about a user's preferences or a user'scurrent location). User information that is used to identify uniqueusers, unique addresses or other user-related history can be anonymizedso that the privacy of users is protected. For example, quasi-uniqueidentifiers can be associated with users, but the actual identifyinginformation of the users is not stored. Additionally, any identifieduser preferences or user interactions can be generalized (for example,generalized based on user demographics) rather than associated with aparticular user. Encryption and obfuscation techniques can also be usedto protect the privacy of users.

One innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification is embodied in methods that include the actions of:receiving a query from a user device, a current time, and a location forthe user device; identifying results responsive to the query, theresults including one or more business results that are each associatedwith a business location and operating hours; selecting a subset of thebusiness results as open results based on the operating hours of thebusiness results, the current time, and travel times from the devicelocation to the respective business locations; and providing data for asearch engine results page that designates the subset of businessresults as open results.

Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding systems,apparatus, and computer programs, configured to perform the actions ofthe methods, encoded on computer storage devices. A system of one ormore computers can be so configured by virtue of software, firmware,hardware, or a combination of them installed on the system that inoperation cause the system to perform the actions. One or more computerprograms can be so configured by virtue having instructions that, whenexecuted by data processing apparatus, cause the apparatus to performthe actions.

These and other embodiments may each optionally include one or more ofthe following features. For instance, selecting the subset of thebusiness results as the open results includes determining an arrivaltime to the business location for each business result responsive to thequery by adding to the current time the travel time to the businesslocation for each business result, and determining that the arrival timeto the business location for the business result occurs between abeginning and an end of the operating hours associated with the businessresult. Providing the data for the search engine results page thatdesignates the subset of business results as open results includesproviding a label for display on the results page designating at least asubset of the business results as being open now results, anddesignating the subset of business results that are open results fordisplay beneath the open now label. Providing the data for the searchengine results page that designates the subset of business results asopen results includes providing data for a control on the search engineresults page that allows a user to toggle a display of results based onwhether or not the results are open results. Interaction with thecontrol is detected, and data for a second search engine results pagethat only displays the subset of business results that are open resultsis provided. It is determined that a number of open results is above apredetermined threshold. Selecting a subset of the business results asopen results includes generating, for each of the business resultsresponsive to the query, a confidence score indicating a likelihood thatthe business location for the business result is open, and selectingeach of the business results for which the confidence score is above athreshold for inclusion in the subset of business results.

Selecting the subset of the business results as the open resultsincludes selecting the subset of the business results as the openresults based on a proximity of a time associated with the query to abeginning and an end of the operating hours. Providing the data for thesearch engine results page includes providing data that, when rendered,displays a control that, in response to user interaction with thecontrol, alters a display of results based on whether or not the resultsare open results. The control filters or reorders the results based onwhether the results are open results. Providing the data for the searchengine results page includes: detecting user interaction with thecontrol; and in response to detecting user interaction with the control,providing the data for the search engine results page that designatesthe open results as open. Determining a number of the open results; anddetermining that the number of open results meets a predeterminedthreshold; where providing data that, when rendered, displays a controlthat alters a display of results is performed in response to determiningthat the number of the open results meets the predetermined threshold.

Determining that a number of open results meets a first threshold; anddetermining that a second number of results identified meets a secondthreshold; where providing data that, when rendered, displays a controlthat alters a display of results is performed in response to (i)determining that the number of open results meets the first thresholdand (ii) determining that the number of results identified meets thesecond threshold. Selecting a subset of the business results as openresults includes: generating, for each of the business results, aconfidence score indicating a likelihood that the business result isopen at a particular time; and selecting a set of the business resultsas open results, the business results in the set being those businessresults for which the confidence score meets a threshold. Determining atime zone associated with the device location, where selecting thesubset of the business results as open results includes selecting thesubset of results as open results using the determined time zone.

Selecting the subset of the business results as the open resultsincludes estimating travel times from the device location to therespective business locations; based on the estimated travel times,generating, for each of the business results, a score indicating alikelihood that a user can arrive at the business location associatedwith the business result during the operating hours associated with thebusiness result; and selecting a set of the business results as openresults, the business results in the set being those business resultsfor which the score meets a threshold. Selecting the subset of thebusiness results as the open results comprises: determining a distancebetween the device location and the respective business locations;generating, for each of the business results, a score based on thedistance between the device location and the business locationassociated with the business result; and selecting a set of the businessresults as open results, the business results in the set being thosebusiness results for which the score meets a threshold.

Advantageous implementations can include one or more of the followingfeatures. Search results can identify businesses that are open at aparticular time. Whether businesses are designated as open can bepersonalized based on the location of a user. A business can bedesignated as open when an estimated arrival time at a location for thebusiness is within the operating hours of the business. A user interfaceelement can respond to user interaction to indicate results that areopen at a particular time. The user interface element can rank or filtersearch results such that results designated as open at a particular timeare presented. The user interface element can be selectively presented,for example, based on characteristics of a search results set.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features and advantages willbecome apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram that illustrates an example environment in whichlocation status is indicated.

FIG. 2 is a diagram that illustrates examples of data that can be usedto designate location status.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A and 4B are diagrams that illustrate examples of userinterfaces for indicating location status.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example of a process forindicating location status.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a diagram that illustrates an example environment 100 in whichlocation status is indicated. The environment 100 includes a computingdevice 104 and a server system 106 that communicate over a network 108.The diagram shows states (A) to (H), which may occur in the sequenceillustrated or in a different sequence. States (B) to (G) illustrate aflow of data, and states (A) and (H) illustrate user interfaces 110 a,110 b.

The computing device 104 can be, for example, a desktop computer, alaptop computer, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a navigation system, or anothercomputing device. The operations performed by the server system 106 canbe performed by individual computer systems or can be distributed acrossmultiple computer systems. The network 108 can be a wired or wirelessnetwork or a combination of both. The network 108 can include one ormore public or private networks, and can include the Internet.

Users often use search engine systems to find information aboutbusinesses and places near them. When a user reviews search results, itcan be useful to know whether a business identified in the searchresults is open or not. Accordingly, the status of businesses and theirassociated locations can be presented in response to a search query. Asused herein, location status refers to the accessibility of a location,for example, whether a business at the location is open.

In general, businesses that are open at a particular time can bedistinguished from businesses that are either closed at the particulartime or cannot be verified as open. By indicating on a search engineresults page that a business is open (or by excluding businesses thatare not considered to be open), users can quickly identify businessesthat are open at a time of interest.

As an example, a user may desire to find businesses that are relevant tothe user's query and are open at the current time that the query issubmitted. Businesses that are currently open can be indicated to be“open now”. In some implementations, a filter control can be provided ona search engine results page that allows the user to filter out searchresults for businesses that are not open, leaving only open resultsbeing displayed.

Businesses can include commercial entities and non-commercial entities,such as governments and non-profit organizations. Businesses can beassociated with one or more business locations (e.g., geographicalareas). Business locations can include parks, schools, libraries, andother locations where other non-commercial activities take place, inaddition to stores, restaurants, theaters, and other commerciallocations. In some implementations, business locations can be anypublicly accessible location, regardless of the purposes of oractivities at the location. Thus in some implementations, businesses arenot limited to any particular purpose or activity.

Businesses have operating hours, which can be scheduled time periodsduring which business can be conducted. For example, operating hours canindicate when a business location is accessible (e.g., when entry to alocation is permitted, or physical facilities are available), or whenservices at the business location are provided.

To determine whether to indicate a business as open, the server system106 can access information about the operating hours of the businesses.If the current time (or another time of interest) falls within theoperating hours of a business, the server system 106 can indicate thatthe business is open.

In addition, or as an alternative, the server system 106 can use otherinformation to enhance the usefulness of status indications provided tousers. For example, the server system 106 can take into account thedistance between a user's location and the business locations ofbusinesses in the search results. Travel times for travel between thelocation of a user's computing device and the business locations of thebusinesses can be determined. The server system 106 can adjust thestatus indicated for the businesses based on the travel times. Forexample, businesses can be designated as open when, based on thedistance between the user's location and the business locations, it isreasonable that the user could be expected to arrive at the businesslocations within the operating hours. When it is not reasonable toexpect that the user can arriving within the operating hours, thebusinesses are not indicated as being open, irrespective of whether thecurrent time is within the operating hours.

As an example, the server system 106 can receive a query from a userdevice, such as the computing device 104. The server system 106 can alsoreceive a current time and a location of the computing device 104. Theserver system 106 can identify results responsive to the query. Theresults can include one or more business results that are eachassociated with a business location and operating hours. The serversystem 106 can also select a subset of the business results as openresults based on the operating hours of the business results, thecurrent time, and travel times from the device location to therespective business locations. The server system 106 then provides datafor a search engine results page that designates the subset of thebusiness results as open results.

For purposes of example, assume that in state (A), a user 102 enters aquery 112 at the computing device 104 and initiates a search using thequery 112. The query 112 can include, for example, an n-gram ofcharacters, which can include one or more query terms.

In the illustrated example, the user interface 110 a of the computingdevice 104 includes an input field 114 (e.g., a text entry box) and asearch control 116. The user 102 enters the query 112, “restaurants”,into the input field 114 and initiates a search by clicking on orotherwise interacting with (e.g., hovering a pointer over or providingvoice commands that cause selection of) the search control 116.

In state (B), the computing device 104 sends a request 118 to the serversystem 106. For example, the request 118 can request a resource or datathat provides results responsive to the query 112. The request 118includes the query 112 and indicates a geographical location associatedwith the query 112. The request 118 can also include a time 121associated with the query 112, for example, a time that the request 118is sent.

The geographical location associated with the query 112 can be a devicelocation 120 of the computing device 104, for example, the currentlocation of the computing device 104. As described above, the devicelocation 120 can be provided when, for example, the user 102 givespermission for the location information to be submitted to and used bythe server system 106. For example, the user 102 can “opt-in” to enablethe use of location information or “opt-out” so that locationinformation is not used. The device location 120 can also be anonymizedsuch that the device location 120 cannot be linked to the user 102.

To determine the device location 120, the computing device 104 candetermine its current location using, for example, a global positioningsystem (GPS) receiver module. As an alternative, a user can enter adevice location 120, for example, an address, zip code, city or otherinformation that indicates the location of the computing device 104. Thecomputing device 104 or the server system 106 can determine the locationof the computing device 104 based on, for example, an IP address for thecomputing device 104, information about the location of a wirelessaccess point or a nearby cellular network cell site to which thecomputing device 104 is connected, or using other techniques.

In some implementations, the computing device 104 or the server system106 estimates the device location 120 using information about the user102 to which the user 102 has approved access. For example, if the user102 has enabled access to calendar data or a travel itinerary for theuser 102, the computing device 104 can access to determine the scheduledlocation of the user 102 and thus the scheduled location of thecomputing device 104.

As an alternative, the device location 120 can also be a stored locationfor the computing device 104, for example, a default location or aprevious location for the computing device 104. The stored location canbe a recent location of the computing device 104, such as the last knownlocation, or a frequent location of the computing device 104. The storedlocation can be stored on the computing device 104 (e.g., as a cookie)or on the server system 106 (e.g., in a user profile for the user 102).The request 118 can indirectly indicate a stored location, for example,by including an anonymized user identifier for the user 102, permittingthe server system 106 to access the information about the storedlocation for the computing device 104.

In state (C), the server system 106 receives the request 118 andidentifies search results 130 that are responsive to the query 112. Forexample, server system 106 can include a result identification module122 that identifies the search results 130 that are relevant to one ormore of the terms of the query 112. In the illustrated example, each ofthe search results 130 represents a restaurant location.

The search results 130 can include one or more business results 130a-130 c. Each business result 130 a-130 c represents a business and isassociated with a corresponding business location, for example, ageographical location, and operating hours that represent, for example,dates and times that the corresponding business location is accessible.A business location can be accessible, and thus can be considered to beopen, at times when, for example, entry to or presence at the businesslocation by the public is permitted, services are provided at thebusiness location, or when both conditions occur. Business results canbe, but are not required to be, associated with a particular entity ororganization.

Briefly, in states (D) and (E), the server system 106 determines whetherthe business results 130 a-130 c should be designated as being open. Forexample, the server system 106 can access information about theoperating hours of each of the business results 130 a-130 c, and selecta subset of the business results 130 a-130 c as open results if thecurrent time is within the operating hours for the respective businessresults 130 a-130 c.

Because the user 102 is likely located at some distance from thelocations of the business results 130 a-130 c, the server system 106 canuse the device location 120 associated with the query 112 to enhance thestatus information provided to the user. For example, the server system106 can select the business results 130 a-130 c as open when the user102 is expected to arrive at the business locations within the operatinghours. Thus the set of business results 130 a-130 c that the serversystem 106 designated to be “open now” or open at a particular time maybe different from the set of locations that are actually open at thetime.

As an example, when a business is currently open, but the user does nothave enough time to travel to the business before it closes, the serversystem 106 does not designate the location as being open. Similarly, ifa business is currently closed but will open by the time the user isexpected to arrive, the business can be designated as open, even thoughit is not actually open at the moment the results are provided to theuser. In some implementations, as described further below, a user canselect a time of interest other than the current time (e.g., a futuredate or time, or a range of time) at which location status informationis desired.

In further detail, in state (D), the server system 106 assigns scores tothe business results 130 a-130 c. The server system 106 uses the scoresto determine whether the business results 130 a-130 c should bedesignated as open at the particular time of interest (e.g., the time121).

FIG. 2 is a diagram that illustrates examples of data that can be usedto designate location status. The server system 106 can include a scoreassignment module that assigns one or more scores to each businessresult 130 a-130 c. The assigned scores can include confidence scores,where each confidence score is a value indicative of a likelihood that abusiness result 130 a-130 c will be open at a particular time ofinterest. For example, the server system 106 can assign a confidencescore 220 that is indicative of whether a business result 130 a-130 cwill be open at the time 121. In addition, or as an alternative, theserver system 106 can assign an arrival confidence score 270 that isindicative of whether a business result 130 a-130 c will be open at atime that the user 102 is estimated to arrive at a business location ofthe business result 130 a-130 c.

As described further below, the server system 106 can assign compositescores 280 that indicate the likelihood that the respective businessresults 130 a-130 c should be designated as open. The composite scores280 are based on the confidence scores 220, the arrival confidencescores 270, or both. For example, one or more weighting or scalingfactors can be applied to the confidence scores 220 or the arrivalconfidence scores 270 to determine the composite scores 280.

To determine the confidence scores 220 and the arrival confidence scores270, the server system 106 can access information about operating hours210 for each of the business results 130 a-130 c. The data indicatingthe operating hours 210 can be accessed from, for example, an indexstored in one or more data storage devices in communication with theserver system 106 (not shown). The data in the index can be acquiredfrom multiple sources, for example, representatives of businesses, webpages for the businesses, public records, or third parties. In someimplementations, information about operating hours 210 is acquired froma directory service that aggregates operating hours data for multiplebusinesses.

In some implementations, users can choose to provide information aboutoperating hours, and that information can be included in the index. Forexample, users can submit information that states the operating hours210 for a business. As another example, users can give permission forthe server system 106 to access “check-in” data indicating that thecomputing device 104 was located at a location at a particular time. Asdescribed above, users can be provided an opportunity to opt-in oropt-out of using features that collect information about the users. Thecheck-in data can be anonym ized so that it cannot be linked to a useridentity. Check-in data may include, for example, a location (e.g., GPScoordinates) and a timestamp. Because users are generally admitted at alocation only when the location is open, the timestamps of check-in datacan indicate when the location is open. As another example, users maygive permission for the server system 106 to access timestamps andlocations associated with photographs taken at a location during theoperating hours. As another example, users may provide feedbackindicating that operating hours presented are incorrect or incomplete,and the server system 106 can update the operating hours 210 inresponse.

The different sources of information for operating hours 210 can havedifferent levels of reliability. The reliability of differentinformation sources can be determined, and a reliability score,indicative of the reliability of the information source, can beassociated with each information source.

In some implementations, sources that are determined to be reliable(e.g., sources determined to have reliability scores at or above a firstpredetermined threshold) can be included in a whitelist. Unreliablesources (e.g., sources determined to have reliability scores below asecond predetermined threshold) can be included in a blacklist, and datafrom blacklisted sources can be ignored. The index of operating hours210 can be created using only data that are either (i) provided by awhitelisted source or (ii) agreed upon by two or more sources that arenot on the blacklist. Data provided by a single whitelisted source canbe trusted without further verification. In order for data fromnon-whitelisted sources to be included in the index of operating hours210, confirmation can be required from at least one other source. Thusthe index of operating hours 210 indicates data from a trusted source ordata verified among multiple sources.

A second source can confirm the data of a first source by, for example,independently indicating the same range of operating hours the firstsource. In some implementations, the beginning and ending times of theoperating hours indicated by two sources can be required to match eachother. When the beginning or ending times do not match, the operatinghours for neither source can be used. As an alternative, in someimplementations, an overlapping range of time indicated by two differentsources can be considered reliable, even if the beginning and endingtimes are not the same. For example, if a first source indicates that abusiness location has operating hours from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, and asecond source indicates that it has operating hours of 9:00 am to 9:00pm, the overlapping portion of time from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm can be usedas the operating hours for the business location.

When only one source provides operating hours for a business, or whenmultiple sources disagree, the operating hours 210 for the business canbe considered to be unknown, as if no information were available for thebusiness. When the operating hours for a business result is unknown, thebusiness result will not be selected as an open result, and thus willnot be designated as open. For example, because operating hours 210 areunavailable for the business result 130 c, the server system 106 assignsa confidence score 220 of 0% to the business result 130 c, indicatingthat the business result 130 c is not likely to be open at the time 121.

In some implementations, the index of operating hours 210 can indicatethe operating hours 210 of a business with varying degrees ofconfidence. For example, operating hours 210 entries in the index canhave associated confidence measures (not shown) based on the reliabilityscores of the sources that provided the operating hours 210. The greaterthe number of sources that agree on the operating hours 210, the greaterthe confidence indicated by the confidence measures assigned to theoperating hours 210. Different periods of time during the operatinghours 210 can have different assigned confidence measures. For example,for a single business result 130 a-130 c, a time period that multipleinformation sources indicate as open may be assigned a higher confidencemeasure than a time period that only one information source indicates asopen.

The server system 106 uses the operating hours 210 to assign theconfidence scores 220, which indicate the likelihood that the businessresults 130 a-130 c are actually open at the time 121. When the serversystem 106 determines that time 121 is included within the operatinghours 210 for one of the business results 130 a-130 c, the server systemassigns a confidence score 220 to the business result 130 a-130 c thatindicates that it is likely that the business result 130 a-130 c isopen. When the server system determines that the time 121 is outside theoperating hours 210, the server system 106 assigns a confidence score220 that indicates that it is unlikely that the business result 130a-130 c is open.

The confidence scores 220 can also be based in part on confidencemeasures for the operating hours 210, for example, to account foruncertainty as to the accuracy of the operating hours 210. For example,even though the business result 130 a and the business result 130 b bothhave operating hours 210 that include the time 121, the confidencescores 220 are different to reflect the different levels of confidencein the accuracy of the operating hours 210.

To further account for the uncertainty in the operating hours, theserver system 106 can assign the confidence scores 220 based on theproximity of the time 121 to the boundaries of the operating hours 210.The closer the time 121 is to the beginning or end of the operatinghours 210, the lower the likelihood that the business result 130 a-130 awill be open. The server system 106 can also determine whether the time121 is within a threshold amount of time from the boundaries of theoperating hours 210. For example, the server system 106 can determinewhether the time 121 is within thirty minutes of an opening or closingtime of the business results 130 a-130 c. Other threshold times can beused, for example, two hours, one hour, or fifteen minutes. Theboundaries of the operating hours 210 are more likely to be incorrect orto be changed than are the middle periods of the operating hours 210.For example, a business owner is more likely to close an hour early oneday than to close for an hour in the middle of the day. Therefore, whenan expected arrival time 260 is within a predetermined threshold amountof time from an opening or closing time, there may be additionaluncertainty as to whether the business will be open.

In the illustrated example, the time 121 is within thirty minutes of theclosing time for the business result 130 a. As a result, the serversystem 106 assigns the confidence score 220 for the business result 130a to indicate lower confidence that the business result 130 a is openthan if the time 121 had been more than thirty minutes from the closingtime.

When determining the confidence scores 220 (or the arrival confidencescores 270), the server system 106 can determine a time zone for theuser 102. For example, the server system 106 can use the device location120 to determine a time zone where the computing device 104 is located.This time zone can be used so that the time 121 and the times of theoperating hours 210 can be compared accurately.

In some implementations, the index of operating hours 210 can be storedwith respect to a common time zone, for example, coordinated universaltime (UTC). Storing data about the operating hours 210 with respect to acommon time zone can facilitate using the same index data in datacenters in multiple different time zones. After determining the user'stime zone, the server system 106 can convert the current time (e.g., thetime 121) to UTC for comparison with the operating hours 210, which arestored in UTC.

As an alternative, rather than storing operating hours relative to acommon time zone, the index of operating hours 210 can store, for eachbusiness result 130 a-130 c, data that indicates a time zone associatedwith the operating hours 210 for the business result 130 a-130 c. Theserver system 106 can make appropriate conversions when comparing a timein a first time zone to a time in a second, different time zone.

The server system 106 can also assign the arrival confidence scores 270,which each indicate a likelihood that the corresponding business result130 a-130 c will be open when the user 102 arrives at the correspondingbusiness location 230. The server system 106 can access data thatindicates operating hours 210 and business locations 230 for each of thebusiness results 130 a-130 c. Using this data, the server system 106 candetermine distances 240 between the device location 120 and the businesslocations 230, and also determine estimated travel times 250 from thedevice location 120 to the business locations 230. The server system 106can calculate estimated arrival times 260 at which the user 102 canarrive at the business locations 230. The server system 106 can thenassign the arrival confidence scores 270 based on whether the estimatedarrival times 260 are within the operating hours 210.

The server system 106 can identify the business locations 230 that areassociated with the business results 130 a-130 c using location datastored in an index. The location data can be acquired from the samesources that provide operating hours information or from differentsources. The business locations 230 can each include, for example, anaddress, latitude and longitude coordinates, or other information thatindicates the geographical location associated with the business results130 a-130 c. In some implementations, the business locations 230 mayinclude a postal code or other information that indicates only anapproximate location for the business results 130 a-130 c.

The server system 106 can determine distances 240 between the devicelocation 120 and the business locations 230. For example, the serversystem 106 can access map data for a region that includes the devicelocation 120 and the business locations 230. Using the map data, theserver system 106 can determine the distances 240 between the devicelocation 120 and the business locations 230 along roads or othertransportation routes. Alternatively, the distances 240 can be lineardistances between the two locations.

The server system 106 can determine estimated travel times 250 betweenthe device location 120 and the business locations 230. For purposes ofexample, specific values of estimated travel times 250 are illustrated.To reflect the variability of travel times, the server system 106 canuse estimation functions rather than specific values to representestimated travel times 250. For example, each of the estimated traveltimes 250 can be calculated as a probability distribution function suchas a probability density function (PDF). Alternatively, one or moreparticular estimated travel times can be used.

The server system 106 can estimate travel times using the map data.Travel times 250 may be calculated by adding together travel times orcombining probability functions for travel along different segments of aroute between the device location 120 and one of the business locations230. The travel time for each segment can be based on the maximum oraverage speeds along the segment, and can take into account current orexpected traffic conditions. Alternatively, the travel times 250 can beestimated, for example, by multiplying a standard or average speed byeach distance 240.

The estimated travel times 250 can be calculated based on any of severaltransportation modes such as travel by walking, by public transit suchas train or bus, or by car. The server system 106 can calculate theestimated travel times 250 based on a fastest transportation modeavailable in the geographic area, a recent transportation mode, or atransportation mode selected by the user 102. When a PDF is used torepresent the estimated travel times 250, the variance of the PDFs canvary based on the mode of transportation that is used. For example, aPDF that represents travel times using a train may be calculated to havea lower variance than a PDF that represents travel times using a car.Similarly, the PDF used to estimate can take into account the time 121at which travel is expected to occur. For example, when the travel timeis calculated for travel by car and the time 121 is near a peak commutetime, the travel time PDF can have a larger variance or have anincreased mean or median value relative to a PDF representing traveltime at a non-peak time.

Using the estimated travel times 250, the server system 106 candetermine estimated arrival times 260. The estimated arrival times 260can be represented as PDFs or other estimation functions that indicatelikelihoods of various times that the user may arrive at the businesslocations 230. The values illustrated for the estimated arrival times260 can represent, for purposes of example, mean or median values forthe corresponding PDFs. Alternatively, estimated travel times 250 canrepresent earliest times that the user 102 is determined capable ofarriving at the respective business locations 230. To calculate theestimated arrival times 260, the server system 106 can add the estimatedtravel times 250 to the time 121.

In some implementations, the server system 106 determines the estimatedarrival times 260 based on an accuracy of the device location 120. Theestimation function(s) or models used to represent the estimate arrivaltimes 260 can include an error parameter to account for error in thedevice location 120. The error parameter can vary based on the methodused to determine the device location 120. For example, the errorparameter may indicate a larger error for a location determined usingcellular tower signals than for a location determined using a GPSreceiver. The larger the error parameter, the larger the variance in aPDF that represents the estimated arrival time 260.

The server system 106 can use the estimated arrival times 260 todetermine the arrival confidence scores 270. Each arrival confidencescore 270 can indicate a likelihood that the user 102, by travellingfrom the device location 120 at the time 121, would arrive at thebusiness location 230 for a business result 130 a-130 c while thebusiness result 130 a-130 c is open.

To take into account uncertainty as to the accuracy of the operatinghours 210, the arrival confidence scores 270 can be based on theconfidence scores 220, which reflect the uncertainty about the accuracyof the operating hours 210. Alternatively, the arrival confidence scores270 can be based on similar factors used to assign the confidence scores220, for example, confidence measures for the operating hours 210 andthe proximity of the estimated arrival times 260 to the beginning or endof the operating hours 210.

To take into account uncertainty as to the future arrival time of theuser 102 at the business locations 230, the arrival confidence scores270 can also be based on the estimated arrival times 260 which can beexpressed as PDFs. As an example, for each business result 130 a-130 c,the server system 106 can determine a cumulative probability that theuser 102 will arrive within the operating hours 210 by integrating overthe portion of the estimated arrival time PDF that overlaps with theoperating hours 210. Alternatively, the server system 106 can determineone or more specific values representing estimated arrival times 260 arewithin the operating hours 210.

In the illustrated example, the server system 106 determines whethereach of the estimated arrival times 260 falls within the operating hours210 of the corresponding business result 130 a-130 c. As an example, theuser 102 is expected to arrive at the business result 130 a, at 9:03 pm,after the closing time of 9:00 pm. Because the user 102 likely cannottravel to the associated business location 230 before it closes, theserver system 106 generates an arrival confidence score 270 for thebusiness result 130 a that indicates that the business result 130 a willlikely not be open by the time the user 102 arrives. Even though thebusiness result 130 a is open at the current time (e.g., 8:47 pm),designating the business result 130 a as open could cause the user 102to travel to the business location, only to arrive after the businesshas closed.

As another example, assume that the user 102 is expected to be able toarrive at the business location 230 for the business result 130 b by8:50 pm, which is within the operating hours 210 for the business result130 b. In this example, the server system 106 assigns an arrivalconfidence score 270 to the business result 130 b that indicates thatthe business result 130 b is likely to be open at a time when the user102 can arrive.

The server system 106 can assign the composite scores 280 to thebusiness results 130 a-130 c based on the arrival confidence scores 270and other criteria. Each composite score 280 is a value indicative of alikelihood that the corresponding business result 130 a-130 c should bedesignated as open. The composite scores 280 can thus be based on anycombination of the factors used to calculate the confidence scores 220and the arrival confidence scores 270, including the likelihood that theknown operating hours 210 are accurate and the likelihood that the usercan arrive at the business locations 230 while they are open.

The composite scores 280 can be calculated by applying a weighting orscaling factor to the arrival confidence scores 270. For example, thearrival confidence scores 270 can be weighted by the distances 240 suchthat the greater the distance 240, the less likely the correspondingbusiness result 130 a-130 c should be selected as open. In this manner,the distances 240 can be used to manage the risk of inconvenience to theuser if the operating hours 210 are incorrect. For example, if a usertravels one mile based on an indication that a business location is“open now”, and the business location is closed, the inconvenience tothe user 102 much less than if the user 102 had traveled fifteen milesto reach the business location only to find that it is closed. Theserver system 106 can assign the composite scores 280 according to thedistances 240, such that the greater the distance 240, the lower thescaling factor applied to the corresponding arrival confidence score270. A maximum distance threshold can be set such that any businessresults 130 a-130 c that have distance 240 greater than thepredetermined maximum threshold distance can be excluded from beingdesignated as open.

Returning to FIG. 1, in state (E), the server system 106 determineswhether the business results 130 a-130 c should be designated as open.The server system 106 selects a subset of the business results 130 a-130c as open results based on the composite scores 280. A score evaluationmodule 126 of the server system 106 evaluates the composite scores 280,for example, by comparing each composite score 280 to a predeterminedthreshold. If the composite score 280 for one of the business results130 a-130 c meets (e.g., is greater than or equal to) the predeterminedthreshold, the server system 106 selects the associated business result130 a-130 c as an open result. When fewer than all of the businessresults 130 a-130 c have composite scores 280 that satisfy thethreshold, the open results can be a proper subset of the businessresults 130 a-130 c.

In the illustrated example, the server system 106 can use a minimumthreshold of, for example, 80%. The composite score 280 assigned to thebusiness result 130 b is above the minimum threshold, and thus theserver system 106 selects the business result 130 b as an open resultfor the time 121. The composite scores 280 assigned to the otherbusiness results 130 a, 130 c are below the minimum threshold, so theserver system 106 does not select them as open results.

Because the time zone associated with the time 121 is determined andused when assigning the composite scores 280, the selection process forthe open results is time-zone aware. Business results 130 a-130 c thatoutside the time zone of the user 102 can still be accurately selectedas open results. Thus a user near a time zone boundary can be presentedinformation about open results having business locations in all nearbytime zones.

In some implementations, the score evaluation module 126 can evaluatethe confidence scores 220 or the arrival confidence scores 270 againstpredetermined thresholds rather than evaluating the composite scores280. For example, if it is not desired to take travel time into account,the open results can be selected based on the confidence scores 220. Asanother example, if no scaling or other adjustments to the arrivalconfidence scores 270 are made, the open results can be selected basedon the arrival confidence scores 270.

In state (F), the server system 106 generates a web page 140 or otherdata that identifies one or more of the search results 130. For example,a web page generation module 128 of the server system 106 can generatethe web page 140 to include the top N results, where N is an integer.

The web page 140 can also designate one or more of the search results130 are as open. Search results 130 can be indicated as open when theweb page 140 is rendered, or after a user selects a user interfaceelement such as a filter control. For example, open results may not bedistinguished from other search results 130 when the web page 140 isfirst rendered. However, the user 102 can select a filter control thatfilters the search results 130 so that only the open results (forexample, those results selected as “open now”) are presented. After thefilter is applied, all of the search results 130 that are presented areindicated to be open. Business results 130 a-130 c that are closed, orthat have not been determined to be open, are filtered out by the filtercontrol.

The web page generation module 128 can selectively include the filtercontrol in the web page 140 based on the characteristics of the query112 and/or the set of search results 130. Based on an evaluation of thecharacteristics of the search results 130, the web page generationmodule 128 can include the filter control when it is likely to be usefulto the user 102, and omit the filter control when it is not likely to beuseful, as described in more detail below. Thus when the filter controlis included, it can function as a suggestion that the user 102 refinethe presentation of the search results 130 to indicate those that areopen.

The web page generation module 128 can determine whether or not todisplay the filter control based on one or more of, for example, a totalnumber of search results 130 identified, a number of business results130 a-130 c identified, and a number of open results selected. As anexample, the server system 106 can generate the web page 140 to presentthe filter control when a predetermined condition is satisfied. Theserver system 106 can generate the web page 140 to not present thefilter control when the predetermined condition is not satisfied.

The predetermined condition can include, for example, that the totalnumber of open results equals or exceeds a threshold number, forexample, one, five, or ten. If there are no open results in the set ofsearch results 130, for example, the filter control can be omitted. Bycontrast, if there are at least the threshold number of open results,the filter control can be included. The predetermined condition caninclude, for example, that the total number of search results 130 meetsor exceeds a minimum threshold, for example, one, five, ten, or twenty.If the total number of search results 130 is below the minimumthreshold, the filter control may not be needed. In someimplementations, the predetermined condition includes the number of openresults satisfying a first threshold, and the number of total resultsidentified satisfying a second threshold.

As another example, the predetermined condition can be that the numberof open results in the N-highest ranked results meets or exceeds athreshold. For example, the filter control can be provided when thereare at least five open results in the fifty highest-ranked searchresults 130.

The server system 106 can omit the filter control when the server system106 determines that the query 112 is highly navigational, for example,when the server system 106 determines that the query 112 corresponds tospecific location or business. For example, when the query 112 includesa particular address or business name that likely refers to a singlebusiness or location, the server system 106 can omit the filter control.By contrast, the filter would be more appropriate when the query 112includes a general description like “hardware store” or “movie theater”.

The server system 106 can determine whether a query is highlynavigational based on the search results 130, for example, whether thehighest-ranking search results have particular characteristics incommon. In addition, or as an alternative, a query can be determined tobe highly navigational based on user interactions with results toqueries with the same or similar terms. For example, when differentusers often select the same result after submitting a particular set ofquery terms, the set of query terms is likely to be highly navigational.

As an alternative, the filter control may be displayed in the web page140 in response to every query 112, but other features, such asformatting or a separate notification message, can be selectivelyincluded to draw the user's attention to the filter control when it islikely to be useful. For example, a link to a search result pagepresenting only the open results can be included on the web page 140regardless of the query 112 and search results 130. A separate promptsuggesting that the user 102 interact with the link can be included whenone or more predetermined conditions are satisfied.

In state (G), the server system 106 sends the web page 140 to thecomputing device 104 over the network 108. In state (H), the computingdevice 104 receives the web page 140, and renders the web page 140 onthe user interface 110 b.

The web page 140 can present the search results 130 ranked according to,for example, relevance to the terms of the query 112. The web page 140includes a filter control 150 that can alter the presentation of thesearch results 130 based on whether the search results 130 are selectedas open results. The user interface element can respond to userinteraction by filtering or re-ordering the search results 130 that arepresented. For example, in response to interaction with the filtercontrol 150, the user interface 110 b of the computing device 104 can beconfigured to present the subset of the search results 130 that are openresults. Search results 130 that are not open results can be excludedfrom presentation. The filter control 150 can include a button, acheckbox, a drop down list item, or other user interface element.

The filter control 150 can be a link to a different search result webpage that, when rendered, presents only the business results 130 a-130c. In some implementations, the server system 106 determines whichsearch results 130 should be selected as open results in response tointeraction with the filter control 150, in addition to, or instead of,selecting open results in response to receiving the search query 112.

The user interface 110 b (which displays the rendered web page 140) canalso include other indications of business status. For example, anotification 152 can be presented to indicate that the business result130 b is an open result, for example, that the business result 130 b is“open now.”

In some implementations, the server system 106 assigns each of thebusiness results 130 a-130 c to one of three groups: open results,closed results, and uncertain status results. The open results can bebusiness results, such as the business result 130 b, for which there isa high likelihood (e.g., a confidence score above a threshold value)that they are open at time of interest. The closed results can bebusiness results 130 a-130 c that are likely to be closed at a time ofinterest (e.g., a confidence score that the business is closed is abovea threshold value). The uncertain status results can be business results130 a-130 c that are not selected as open results or closed results(e.g., a confidence score is within a range that indicates uncertaintyas to the status). For example, the business result 130 c can bedesignated as an uncertain status result because operating hours areunknown.

Indications can be provided to show for the open results, the closedresults, and the uncertain status results. For the uncertain statusresults, an indication can be provided that prompts the user 102 toindependently determine the business location status, for example,“status unavailable” or “please call ahead first”.

FIG. 3A is a diagram that illustrates an example of a user interface 310a for indicating location status. The user interface 310 a displays asearch engine results page that is rendered on, for example, a computingdevice. The user interface 310 a displays information that identifiessearch results 330 a-330 e selected as relevant to a search query 312.

In the illustrated example, the user interface 310 a does not indicatewhich of the search results 330 a-330 e are selected as open results.The search results 330 a-330 e that are most relevant to the searchquery 312 can be presented, regardless of status. The user interface 310a includes a filter control 350 that permits a user to alter thepresentation of the search results 330 a-330 e to designate open resultsas being open. For example, interaction with the filter control 350 canfilter the search results 330 a-330 e to show only search results 330a-330 e that are associated with locations that are open at the currenttime (e.g., “open now”).

FIG. 3B is a diagram that illustrates an example of a user interface 310b for indicating location status. The user interface 310 b illustratesinformation displayed in response to user interaction with the filtercontrol 350 of FIG. 3A. After the user interacts with the filter control350, the user interface 310 b can be displayed instead of the userinterface 310 a. Only open results 330 b, 330 d, 330 e, a subset of thesearch results 330 a-330 e, are identified on the user interface 310 b.A message or other indication 360 can be presented that describes thedisplayed results as open results and indicates that the filter has beenapplied.

The open results can be selected from among the search results 330 a-330e and from other search results not presented on the user interface 310a. The open results can be search results 330 a-330 e that are open atthe current time, for example, search results 330 a-330 e for which thecurrent time is determined to be within the operating hours.Alternatively, the open results can be search results 330 a-330 e thatare open at an estimated arrival time in the future, for example, at atime at which the user is likely capable of arriving at the businesslocations that correspond to the respective search results 330 a-330 c.Estimated travel times between the location of the user's computingdevice and the business locations can be used to determine the estimatedarrival times, as described above. The open results can also be selectedbased on additional factors, such as distance of the correspondingbusiness locations from the location of the computing device and theproximity of the current time or an estimated arrival time to theboundaries of the corresponding operating hours.

In some implementations, the user interface 310 b illustrates a web pagethat is retrieved over a network in response to interaction with thefilter control 350. For example, the filter control 350 can be a link toa search engine results page that indicates only open results and isdifferent from the search engine results page displayed in the userinterface 310 a. In some implementations, the web page displayed on theuser interface 310 a can include information, including informationabout open results, that is not displayed, and code in the web page cancause the information to be presented, for example, in the userinterface 310 b without loading a different web page.

FIG. 4A is a diagram that illustrates an example of a user interface 410a for indicating location status. The user interface 410 a displays asearch engine results page that is rendered on, for example, a computingdevice. The user interface 410 a displays information that identifiessearch results 430 a-430 d selected as relevant to a search query 412.

The user interface 410 a presents one or more user interface elements450 that permit a user to select a time, for example, a current time ora future time. The selected time can be a time on a current date or afuture date. A filter control 455 can also be presented. By interactingwith the filter control 455, the user can apply a filter to the searchresults 430 a-430 d so that businesses open at the selected time anddate (e.g., a future time and date) are identified.

FIG. 4B is a diagram that illustrates an example of a user interface 410b for indicating location status. The user interface 410 b illustratesinformation displayed in response to user interaction with the filtercontrol 455 of FIG. 4A. After the user clicks on or otherwise interactswith the filter control 455, the user interface 410 b is presented,identifying open results that are designated as open at the time anddate selected by the user using the user interface elements 450. Theopen results can be selected as, for example, search results 430 a-430 dfor which the selected time occurs within the operating hourscorresponding to the search results 430 a-430 d.

In the illustrated example, the selected date and time is September 17at 7:00 pm, which represents a time in the future. In response to auser's interaction with the filter control 455, a server system (such asthe server system 106 of FIG. 1) determines operating hours for thesearch results 430 a-430 d on the selected date. Using the operatinghours, the server system determines that at the selected time of 7:00 pmon September 17, the search result 430 a and the search result 430 d arescheduled to be open, and the search results 430 b-430 c are notscheduled to be open. As a result, the server system providesinformation that causes the search result 430 a and the search result430 d to be identified on the user interface 410 b as being open at theselected date and time. Search results 430 a-430 d corresponding tobusinesses that are not designated at open at the selected time are notpresented.

In some implementations, the server system uses estimated travel timesto select the open results that are designated as open at the selectedtime in the future. The server system can determine an expected devicelocation for the computing device at the selected date and time. Forexample, the server system can access calendar data for a user of thecomputing device to determine a scheduled location where the user isexpected to be located at the selected time. The server system candetermine estimated arrival times for travel between the scheduledlocation and the business locations. If the estimated arrival timesoccur within the operating hours for the businesses, the correspondingsearch results 430 a-430 d can be selected as business results.

As an alternative to using calendar data for a user to determine afuture location, a travel itinerary or other source of locationinformation can be used. If information about a user's scheduledlocation at the selected time is unavailable, a location where the useris scheduled to be located before the scheduled time can be used. Forexample, the last scheduled location before the selected time can beused (e.g., a location scheduled for earlier in the day or a locationfor a last appointment previous to the scheduled time).

In some implementations, a user can specify a time range of interest,rather than a specific time of interest. For example, a user mayindicate a range of time between a first time and a second time, forexample, between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm. The time range can be submittedwith a query or used to filter results to a query previously submitted.Information about business results that are open during the time rangecan be presented. For example, business results can be presented thatopen during the time range. Alternatively, business results can bepresented that are open for any portion of the time range, or for atleast a minimum length of time during the time range.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example of a process 500for indicating location status. The process 500 may be performed, forexample, by the server system 106.

A query is received from a user device (502). A current time and alocation for the user device are also received. For example, informationthat indicates the device location can be received from the user devicewith the query. The device location can be a current location of theuser device at the time the query is received. For example, the devicelocation can be a location determined by a GPS module of the userdevice.

Results responsive to the query are identified (504). The resultsinclude one or more business results that are each associated with abusiness location and operating hours.

A subset of the business results are selected as open results (506). Thesubset can be selected based on the operating hours and a timeassociated with the query, for example, a current time or a future time.For example, business results can be selected as open results when thetime associated with the query is within the operating hours of thebusiness results.

The subset can be selected as open results based on the operating hoursand travel times from the device location to the respective businesslocations. For example, travel times between the device location and thebusiness locations can be determined (e.g., estimated) and used todetermine estimated arrival times at the business locations. Theestimated arrival times can represent, for example, estimates ofearliest times that the user is capable of arriving at the businesslocations. Business results can be selected as open results if theestimated arrival times for arriving at the business locationscorresponding to the business results are within the operating hourscorresponding to the business results.

Selecting a subset of the business results as open results can includegenerating a confidence score for each of the business results. Eachconfidence score can indicate a likelihood that the business result andits corresponding business location are open at a particular time. Forexample, each confidence score can be indicative of a likelihood thatthe corresponding business result is open at, for example, theparticular time or at an estimated time of arrival at the businesslocation of the business result. A set of the business results can beselected as open results, the business results in the set being thosebusiness results for which the confidence score meets a threshold.

In some implementations, a confidence score indicating a likelihood thata business location for a business result is open is generated for eachof the business results responsive to the query. The business resultsfor which the confidence score is above a threshold are selected forinclusion in the subset of business results.

In some implementations, an arrival time to the business location foreach business result responsive to the query is determined (e.g.,estimated). For example, the arrival time may be determined by adding tothe current time the travel time to the respective business locations ofthe business results. A business result can be selected as an openresult by determining that the arrival time to the business locationassociated with the business result occurs between a beginning and anend of the operating hours associated with the business result.

As an additional or alternative way to select the open results fromamong the business results, in some implementations, travel times fromthe device location to the respective business locations are estimated.Based on the estimated travel times, confidence scores are generated forthe business results. Each confidence score indicates a likelihood thata user can arrive at the business location associated with one of thebusiness results during the operating hours associated with the businessresult. A set of the business results is selected as the open results,the business results in the set being those business results for whichthe confidence score meets a threshold.

Additional or alternative factors can be used to select the subset ofthe business results as open results. For example, a proximity of a timeassociated with the query to a beginning or end of the operating hoursfor the respective business results. For example, the confidence scoresfor the respective business results can be based on the proximity of thetime associated with the query to a beginning or end of the operatinghours for the respective business results.

The distance between the location of the user device and the businesslocations of the business results can be another additional oralternative factor used to select the open results. For example,distances between the device location and the respective businesslocations can be determined, and the confidence scores for therespective business results can be based on the distances.

The travel times to the business locations may be estimated based on thedistance between the location of the user device and the businesslocations for the respective business results. The travel times may bebased on a particular mode of transportation (e.g., walking, bicycling,traveling by bus, by car, by train, etc.) and may take into accounttypical traffic patterns or actual current traffic patterns, publictransportation schedules, available roadways, and so on. The mode oftransportation used to calculate travel times may be selected based oninformation received from the user device, such as user input or sensordata from the client device (e.g., current speed of the client device).

In some implementations, a fixed amount of or a fixed time range may beused as a travel time. For example, travel times for each of multiplebusiness results may be designated to have the same value, where thevalue may or may not be based on distance to the business location forthe business result. In some implementations, a user may specify anamount of time to represent a travel time. For example, a user mayspecify a particular margin of time to use when determining whether aresult is indicated as open now. The user may specify that resultsshould be indicated to be open now only if, for example, the locationfor the result will be open in the next 15 minutes, or 30 minutes, etc.The margin may be used as a travel time for multiple business results orall business results, rather than using individual estimates of traveltimes based on the respective distances to different business locations.

A time zone associated with the device location can be determined. Thesubset of results can be selected as open results using the determinedtime zone. The determined time zone can be used to compare theparticular time to the operating hours relative to a common time zone.For example, the particular time can be converted from the determinedtime zone to a time zone in which operating hours for one or morebusiness results are indicated. Data indicating the opening hours can beaccessed from an index that stores opening hours relative to a singletime zone, such as UTC.

Data for a search engine results page is provided (508). The data forthe search engine results page can designate the subset of the businessresults as open results. For example, when the search engine resultspage is rendered, one or more of the open results can be identified asopen.

In some implementations, data is provided for a control on the searchengine results page that allows a user to toggle a display of resultsbased on whether or not the results are open results. User interactionwith the control can be detected, and data for a second search engineresults page that only displays the subset of business results that areopen results can be provided.

In some implementations, a label is provided for display on the resultspage, where the label designates at least a subset of the businessresults as being open now results. The subset of business results aredesignated for display beneath the open now label.

Providing the data can include providing data that, when rendered,displays a control that alters a display of results based on whether theresults are open results. The control can filter or reorder the resultsbased on whether the results are open results. For example, in responseto user interaction with the control, the open results can be indicatedto be open. In some implementations, in response to interaction with thecontrol, a user interface is updated such that only open results aredisplayed.

Providing the data for the search engine results page can includedetecting user interaction with the control, and providing the data forthe search engine results page that designates the open results as openin response to detecting user interaction with the control. Data can beprovided for a first search engine results page that includes thecontrol. In response to interaction with the control, data can beprovided for a second search engine results page that identifies theopen results as open.

The control that alters the display of search results can be selectivelyprovided. To determine whether to include the control in the searchengine results page, a number of the open results can be determined. Itcan also be determined whether the number of open results meets apredetermined threshold. Data that, when rendered, displays a controlthat, in response to user interaction with the control, alters a displayof results can be provided in response to determining that the number ofopen results meets (e.g., is higher than, or at least as high as) thepredetermined threshold.

In some implementations, it is determined that a number of open resultsmeets a first threshold, and that a number of results identified meets asecond threshold. Data that, when rendered, displays a control thatalters a display of results can be provided in response to (i)determining that the number of open results meets the first thresholdand (ii) determining that the number of results identified meets thesecond threshold.

In some implementations, the open results are designated as being openat a particular time, for example, a time associated with the query. Theparticular time can be a time substantially the same as a time when thedata for the search engine results page is provided. For example, theopen results can be designated as “open now”, or open at a current timethat the data is provided. As an alternative, the open results can bedesignated as being open at a future time, such as a time and/or dateselected by a user. Information indicating a future time can be receivedwith the query, or can be received separately in response to interactionwith a filter control or other user interface element of a search engineresults page.

A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it willbe understood that various modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the disclosure. For example, various formsof the flows shown above may be used, with steps re-ordered, added, orremoved.

The techniques described herein and all of the functional operationsdescribed in this specification may be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including thestructures disclosed in this specification and their structuralequivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. The techniquesdescribed herein may be implemented as one or more computer programproducts, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructionsencoded on a computer readable medium for execution by, or to controlthe operation of, data processing apparatus. The computer readablemedium may be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readablestorage substrate, a memory device, or a combination of one or more ofthem.

The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all apparatus, devices,and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers.The apparatus may include, in addition to hardware, code that creates anexecution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., codethat constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a databasemanagement system, an operating system, or a combination of one or moreof them.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) may be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it may bedeployed in any form, including as a stand alone program or as a module,component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computingenvironment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to afile in a file system. A program may be stored in a portion of a filethat holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in amarkup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program inquestion, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store oneor more modules, sub programs, or portions of code). A computer programmay be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computersthat are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites andinterconnected by a communication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification may beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform functions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows may also be performedby, and apparatus may also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing instructions and one or more memory devicesfor storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will alsoinclude, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer datato, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g.,magnetic, magneto optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computerneed not have such devices. Moreover, a computer may be embedded inanother device, e.g., a tablet computer, a mobile telephone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio player, a Global PositioningSystem (GPS) receiver, to name just a few. Computer readable mediasuitable for storing computer program instructions and data include allforms of non volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by wayof example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flashmemory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removabledisks; magneto optical disks; and CD ROM and DVD-ROM disks. Theprocessor and the memory may be supplemented by, or incorporated in,special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments may be implementedon a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) orLCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displaying information to theuser and a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball,by which the user may provide input to the computer. Other kinds ofdevices may be used to provide for interaction with a user as well; forexample, feedback provided to the user may be any form of sensoryfeedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback;and input from the user may be received in any form, including acoustic,speech, or tactile input.

Embodiments be implemented in a computing system that includes a backend component, e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middlewarecomponent, e.g., an application server, or that includes a front endcomponent, e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface ora Web browser through which a user may interact with an implementationof the techniques described above, or any combination of one or moresuch back end, middleware, or front end components. The components ofthe system may be interconnected by any form or medium of digital datacommunication, e.g., a communication network. Examples of communicationnetworks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a wide area network(“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.

The computing system may include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of what may be claimed, but ratheras descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments. Certainfeatures that are described in this specification in the context ofseparate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a singleembodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in thecontext of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination may in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a sub-combination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems maygenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

In each instance where an HTML file is mentioned, other file types orformats may be substituted. For instance, an HTML file may be replacedby an XML, JSON, plain text, or other types of files. Moreover, where atable or hash table is mentioned, other data structures (such asspreadsheets, relational databases, or structured files) may be used.

Thus, particular embodiments of the invention have been described. Otherembodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example,the actions recited in the claims may be performed in a different orderand still achieve desirable results.

1-21. (canceled)
 22. A computer-implemented method, comprising:receiving a query from a user device, a current time, and a location ofthe user device; identifying results responsive to the query, theresults including one or more business results that are each associatedwith a respective business location and respective operating hours;selecting a subset of the one or more business results as open resultsbased on the respective operating hours of the one or more businessresults, the current time, and travel times from the location of theuser device to the respective business locations, wherein selecting thesubset of the one or more business results as open results comprises:identifying, for each of the one or more business results responsive tothe query, a source of the respective operating hours associated withthe respective business result; determining a reliability score for eachsource of the respective operating hours; generating, for each of theone or more business results responsive to the query, a confidencemeasure that is based on the respective reliability score for therespective source of the respective operating hours; and selecting,based on the confidence measures, the subset of the one or more businessresults; and generating and providing data for a search engine resultspage that designates the subset of the one or more business results asopen results, wherein generating and providing the data for the searchengine results page that designates the subset of the one or morebusiness results as open results comprises generating and providing datafor a control on the search engine results page that toggles a displayof the results based on whether or not the results are open results inresponse to user interaction with the control.
 23. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 22, wherein selecting the subset ofthe one or more business results as the open results further comprises:determining an arrival time to the respective business location for eachbusiness result responsive to the query by adding to the current time atravel time to the respective business location for each businessresult; and determining that the respective arrival time to therespective business location for each business result occurs between abeginning and an end of the respective operating hours associated withthe respective business result.
 24. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 22, wherein providing the data for the search engine results pagethat designates the subset of the one or more business results as openresults further comprises: providing a label for display on the searchengine results page designating at least a subset of the one or morebusiness results as being open now results; and designating the subsetof the one or more business results that are open results for displaybeneath the label.
 25. The computer-implemented method of claim 22,further comprising: detecting the user interaction with the control; andin response to detecting the user interaction with the control,providing data for a second search engine results page that onlydisplays the subset of the one or more business results that are openresults.
 26. The computer-implemented method of claim 22, furthercomprising determining that a number of open results in the subset ofthe one or more search results is above a predetermined threshold numberof results, wherein providing the data for the control on the searchengine results page is performed in response to determining that thenumber of open results in the subset of the one or more search resultsis above the predetermined threshold number of results.
 27. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 22, wherein selecting the subset ofthe one or more business results as open results further comprises:generating, for each of the one or more business results responsive tothe query, a confidence score indicating a likelihood that therespective business location for the respective business result is open;and selecting each of the one or more business results for which therespective confidence score is above a threshold for inclusion in thesubset of the one or more business results.
 28. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 22, further comprising: accessing data indicatingcheck-in times of one or more users at a particular business location;and determining operating hours for the particular business locationbased on the check-in times, wherein selecting the subset of the one ormore business results as open results comprises using the operatinghours for the particular business location to determine whether toinclude in the subset a business result corresponding to the particularbusiness location.
 29. The computer-implemented method of claim 22,wherein selecting the subset of the one or more business results as openresults further comprises: generating, for each of the one or morebusiness results responsive to the query, a confidence score indicatinga likelihood that the respective business location for the respectivebusiness result is open; weighting each confidence score based on adistance between the location of the user device and the respectivebusiness location corresponding to the respective confidence score; andselecting, based on the weighted confidence scores, the subset of theone or more business results.
 30. A system comprising: one or moreprocessors; and a non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to theone or more processors having instructions stored thereon which, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processorsto: receive a query from a user device, a current time, and a locationof the user device; identify results responsive to the query, theresults including one or more business results that are each associatedwith a respective business location and respective operating hours;select a subset of the one or more business results as open resultsbased on the respective operating hours of the one or more businessresults, the current time, and travel times from the location of theuser device to the respective business locations, wherein selecting thesubset of the one or more business results as open results comprises:identifying, for each of the one or more business results responsive tothe query, a source of the respective operating hours associated withthe respective business result; determining a reliability score for eachsource of the respective operating hours; generating, for each of theone or more business results responsive to the query, a confidencemeasure that is based on the respective reliability score for therespective source of the respective operating hours; and selecting,based on the confidence measures, the subset of the one or more businessresults; and generate and provide data for a search engine results pagethat designates the subset of the one or more business results as openresults, wherein generating and providing the data for the search engineresults page that designates the subset of the one or more businessresults as open results comprises generating and providing data for acontrol on the search engine results page that toggles a display of theresults based on whether or not the results are open results in responseto user interaction with the control.
 31. The system of claim 30,wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to selectthe subset of the one or more business results as the open resultsfurther cause the one or more processors to: determine an arrival timeto the business location for each business result responsive to thequery by adding to the current time a travel time to the respectivebusiness location for each business result; and determine that therespective arrival time to the respective business location for eachbusiness result occurs between a beginning and an end of the respectiveoperating hours associated with the respective business result.
 32. Thesystem of claim 30, wherein the instructions that cause the one or moreprocessors to provide the data for the search engine results page thatdesignates the subset of the one or more business results as openresults further cause the one or more processors to: provide a label fordisplay on the search engine results page designating at least a subsetof the one or more business results as being open now results; anddesignate the subset of the one or more business results that are openresults for display beneath the label.
 33. The system of claim 30,wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:detect the user interaction with the control; and in response todetecting user interaction with the control, provide data for a secondsearch engine results page that only displays the subset of the one ormore business results that are open results.
 34. The system of claim 30,wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors todetermine that a number of open results in the subset of the one or moresearch results is above a predetermined threshold number of results, andwherein the instructions cause the one or more processors to provide thedata for the control on the search engine results page in response todetermining that the number of open results in the subset of the one ormore search results is above the predetermined threshold number ofresults.
 35. The system of claim 30, wherein the instructions that causethe one or more processors to select the subset of the business resultsas open results further cause the one or more processors to: generate,for each of the one or more business results responsive to the query, aconfidence score indicating a likelihood that the respective businesslocation for the respective business result is open; and select each ofthe one or more business results for which the respective confidencescore is above a threshold for inclusion in the subset of the one ormore business results.
 36. A non-transitory computer storage mediumencoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructionsthat when, executed by one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to perform operations comprising: receiving a query from auser device, a current time, and a location of the user device;identifying results responsive to the query, the results including oneor more business results that are each associated with a respectivebusiness location and respective operating hours; selecting a subset ofthe one or more business results as open results based on the respectiveoperating hours of the one or more business results, the current time,and travel times from the location of the user device to the respectivebusiness locations, wherein selecting the subset of the one or morebusiness results as open results comprises: identifying, for each of theone or more business results responsive to the query, a source of therespective operating hours associated with the respective businessresult; determining a reliability score for each source of therespective operating hours; generating, for each of the one or morebusiness results responsive to the query, a confidence measure that isbased on the respective reliability score for the respective source ofthe respective operating hours; and selecting, based on the confidencemeasures, the subset of the one or more business results; and generatingand providing data for a search engine results page that designates thesubset of the one or more business results as open results, whereingenerating and providing the data for the search engine results pagethat designates the subset of the one or more business results as openresults comprises generating and providing data for a control on thesearch engine results page that toggles a display of the results basedon whether or not the results are open results in response to userinteraction with the control.
 37. The non-transitory computer storagemedium of claim 36, wherein selecting the subset of the one or morebusiness results as the open results further comprises: determining anarrival time to the respective business location for each businessresult responsive to the query by adding to the current time a traveltime to the respective business location for each business result; anddetermining that the respective arrival time to the respective businesslocation for each business result occurs between a beginning and an endof the respective operating hours associated with the respectivebusiness result.
 38. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim36, wherein providing the data for the search engine results page thatdesignates the subset of the one or more business results as openresults further comprises: providing a label for display on the searchengine results page designating at least a subset of the one or morebusiness results as being open now results; and designating the subsetof the one or more business results that are open results for displaybeneath the label.
 39. The non-transitory computer storage medium ofclaim 36, wherein the operations further comprise: detecting the userinteraction with the control; and in response to detecting the userinteraction with the control, providing data for a second search engineresults page that only displays the subset of the one or more businessresults that are open results.
 40. The non-transitory computer storagemedium of claim 36, wherein the operations further comprise determiningthat a number of open results in the subset of the one or more searchresults is above a predetermined threshold number of results, whereinproviding the data for the control on the search engine results page isperformed in response to determining that the number of open results inthe subset of the one or more search results is above the predeterminedthreshold number of results.
 41. The non-transitory computer storagemedium of claim 36, wherein selecting the subset of the one or morebusiness results as open results further comprises: generating, for eachof the one or more business results responsive to the query, aconfidence score indicating a likelihood that the respective businesslocation for the respective business result is open; and selecting eachof the one or more business results for which the respective confidencescore is above a threshold for inclusion in the subset of the one ormore business results.